


The Little Castle

by enigmaticblue



Category: Castle
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-28
Updated: 2011-03-28
Packaged: 2017-10-17 08:35:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/174929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enigmaticblue/pseuds/enigmaticblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate never quite expects this side of Castle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Little Castle

**Author's Note:**

> Written for syderia, who asked for Beckett and Alexis spending time together.

Kate had been surprised by Alexis’ call, but she willingly agrees to the meeting. She’d been impressed by what she’d seen of Castle’s daughter in the past, and her curiosity was piqued.

 

Plus, the chance to mess with Castle is too good to pass up.

 

Although Castle’s overactive imagination can get a little irritating when he goes too far off on a tangent on a case, she’s amused by the wild scenarios he concocts to explain why Alexis is acting so mysterious. After a day of torturing Castle, Kate is in a good mood when she walks into the coffee shop where she’s agreed to meet Alexis.

 

Alexis is already waiting, her hands around a steaming mug. Kate orders a cup of tea—she’s in the mood for something more calming than coffee—and slides into the seat across from the teenager.

 

“Thanks so much for meeting me, Detective Beckett,” Alexis says. “I know how busy you are.”

 

Kate smiles; it’s hard not to be charmed by Alexis’ sincerity. “It’s no problem. It was good to get out of the station for a while. What can I do for you?”

 

“I need you to promise you won’t tell my dad,” Alexis says in a rush.

 

Kate blinks, beginning to wonder if there wasn’t something to Castle’s anxiety. Still, she knows what a good kid Alexis is, and she doesn’t think Alexis would make such a request if it weren’t important. She thinks about qualifying her promise, but in the end says simply, “Okay. I promise.”

 

Alexis takes a deep breath. “Okay, my school is offering an exchange program, where I can go to France for three weeks. I knew you’d done a semester abroad, so I thought I’d ask if you thought it was worth it.”

 

Alexis speaks in a rush, barely pausing for breath. Kate doesn’t know what she’d expected, but this wasn’t it.

 

“I’m not sure why you need to keep this a secret from your dad,” Kate says carefully, wondering if Alexis felt the need to get away from Castle for some reason.

 

Alexis stares down into her mug. Judging from the color and smell, Alexis’ drink of choice is hot chocolate. “It’s just that the trip coincides with Dad’s birthday, and I don’t want to miss it.”

 

Kate swallows her laughter with some difficulty. After Castle’s wild scenarios, the fact that Alexis is worried about missing her dad’s birthday… It’s refreshing because Kate can’t remember the last time she’d sat across from a teenager who wasn’t in serious trouble.

 

Alexis flushes. “It’s probably stupid.”

 

“No!” Kate assures her. “It’s really sweet. You and your dad are really close, and that’s great.”

 

Alexis smiled. “He’s always there for me.”

 

Kate never quite expects this side of Castle—the stable, caring father who raised a smart, self-possessed, _mature_ daughter. Alexis is living proof that there’s more to Castle than meets the eye.

 

“Yeah, I can see that,” Kate says. “You know, you’ve got, what? Two years until you go off to college?”

 

Alexis nods.

 

“Maybe you should get a taste of what that’s going to be like now,” Kate suggests.

 

Alexis’ brow furrows. “That’s a good point. So, it’s worth going?”

 

“I think you’re the only person who can answer that question,” Kate replies gently. “But I loved studying abroad.” Alexis still looks conflicted, and Kate adds, “But you know, if you decide not to go now, you can always go later.”

 

Alexis nods, and then hesitates. “There’s something else.”

 

Her tone of voice reminds Kate of Castle’s when he’s about to ask her for a favor, and he doesn’t think Kate will say yes. Kate waits for Alexis to continue.

 

“It’s just—we have to do this project for school, where we have to do a three-day internship for our civics class. It’s supposed to be a city or government agency. You know, sanitation, fire, police…” Alexis trails off and looks at Kate hopefully.

 

“And you want to spend three days at my precinct.”

 

“I won’t be any trouble,” Alexis assures her. “I’ll do whatever needs to be done.”

 

Kate chuckles. “You couldn’t be any more trouble than your dad.”

 

Alexis laughs. “Probably not, no.”

 

“Okay,” Kate decides. She likes Alexis, and she knows that helping Alexis means helping Castle in an oblique way. It’s the way she prefers to help Castle. “When do you want to start?”

 

Alexis lights up at that. “Really? I’ll have to do an orientation, but—”

 

“Don’t worry about that,” Kate says. “I’ll handle it. Just let me know when you need to start.”

 

“Great!” Alexis bounces in her seat a little. “You won’t be sorry, Detective Beckett.”

 

Kate thinks about Castle, and how _not_ sorry she is to have him around, and she replies. “I know.”


End file.
